October 1947
War between India and Pakistan after Kashmir's Maharaja hands key powers to Delhi.

July 1949
Ceasefire agreed. Pakistan gains one third of Kashmir.

September 1965
War breaks out as India blames Pakistan for insurgency

Late 1971
Heavy fighting in Kashmir during India and Pakistan's war over Bangladesh

July 1972
Line of Control in Kashmir agreed, similar to the 1949 ceasefire line.

1989
Insurgency in Indian-administered Kashmir

July 1999
Kargil conflict begins when Pakistan crosses Line of Control

October 2001
Worst fighting for more than a year breaks out as India starts shelling what it calls Pakistani military positions

But with partition came massive rioting and population flows as Muslims and Hindus found themselves on the wrong sides of the newly-drawn border.

Around half a million people died in extensive violence and communal rioting. The death toll was highest in Punjab, which was split in two. Part of it
became an Indian state and part of it became a Pakistani province.

The most problematic region was largely Muslim Kashmir. The Pakistanis
argue that Kashmir should have become part of Pakistan in 1947 because the
majority of its population are Muslims. They say that numerous United Nations
resolutions mean that Kashmiris should be allowed to vote in a plebiscite to
decide between India or Pakistan.

India says that Kashmir belongs to them because of the Instrument of Accession
signed by the Maharaja in October 1947, which handed over to Delhi powers of
defence, communication and foreign affairs.

Kashmir's special status within
the Indian constitution was confirmed in 1950, allowing it more autonomy than
other Indian states. Under the Indian constitution, Jammu and Kashmir is a
state, and went to the polls as a state.

Delhi says that under the terms of the
Simla Agreement of 1972 both countries have agreed to solve the Kashmir
question through bilateral negotiations, and not through international forums
such as the UN.

It also says a plebiscite should not be held in Kashmir because
elections have been held which demonstrate that people living there want to
remain part of the Indian union.

Going to war

India and Pakistan have twice gone to war over the territory, in 1947-8 and in 1965.

Pakistan's testing of its Ghauri missile provoked India

In 1971, India and Pakistan fought again over Bangladeshi independence, and during this
time there was also some conflict between the two sides in Kashmir.

And in the summer of 1999, the two countries came to brink of another war after Pakistani-backed forces infiltrated Indian-controlled Kashmir.

A bitter two-month conflict along the Line of Control only ended when Pakistani forces withdrew.

Today, roughly one third of the western part of Kashmir is administered by
Pakistan. Most of the remainder is under Indian control.

The insurgency in
Indian-administered Kashmir began around 1989.

Since then India has constantly
maintained that Pakistan has been training and supplying weapons to militant
separatists.

Pakistan insists it only offers them moral support.

The nuclear race

India first began building its own nuclear weapons in the mid-1960s, after
China began nuclear tests.

Mahatma Gandhi had wanted independence without partition

In 1974, India conducted its first nuclear test - the so-called "Smiling Buddha" detonations in the Rajasthan Desert.

A few years later, Pakistan began to develop its own programme of nuclear
weapons.

Both countries were also developing and testing both short-range and intermediate-range missiles.

In April 1998, Pakistan finally tested its new Ghauri intermediate-range nuclear missile, named after a 12th century Muslim warrior who conquered part of India. This test is thought to have prompted India's nuclear tests the following month.

On Monday May 11, India announced it had conducted three underground tests
at Pokhran in the northern state of Rajasthan. Two days later it announced that another two explosions had taken place.

India's actions were widely condemned by the international community and Pakistan was urged not to retaliate.

But on May 28, Pakistan announced that it had conducted five nuclear tests of its own in south-western Baluchistan.

The tests were
widely criticised throughout the world, and led to the imposition by some countries of sanctions.

Last month, the US lifted economic and military sanctions.

But despite strong American pressure, neither side has so far signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty or the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

Pakistan - once seen as an important ally in the Cold War years - went on to have a problematic relationship with the US.

The 11 September attacks on the US brought a rapprochement as the US tried to bolster support in countries bordering Afghanistan for its strikes against the ruling Taleban and Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.

Now that relationship is under strain again as Pakistan's President, General Pervez Musharraf, faces strong domestic criticism for his backing of the strikes.